O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Have you ever taken the time to read the lyrics of one of the most famous Christmas Carols in the world? O Come, O Come, Emmanuel was written somewhere around 1851. Each verse of this classic carol ends with “Shall come to thee, O Israel”. 

There was no nation of Israel in 1851. There had not been a formal nation of Israel since its fall to Babylon in 586 BC. Roughly speaking, the nation of Israel had been gone for 2437 years, and yet the song ends every verse with, “Shall come to thee, O Israel”. The first verse speaks specifically about Emmanuel/Jesus coming to ransom Israel from their lonely exile. 

What was the author of this song trying to communicate? How could he have possibly known that the nation of Israel would be reborn some 97 years later? Was the song referring only to the first coming of Jesus, or was it possibly a prophetic message of the second coming of Jesus as well? 

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel 

O come, O come, Emmanuel, 

And ransom captive Israel, 

That mourns in lonely exile here, 

Until the Son of God appear. 

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel 

Shall come to thee, O Israel. 

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free 

Thine own from Satan's tyranny; 

From depths of hell Thy people save, 

And give them victory o'er the grave. 

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel 

Shall come to thee, O Israel. 

O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high, 

And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh; 

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, 

And death's dark shadows put to flight. 

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel 

Shall come to thee, O Israel. 

O come, Thou Key of David, come 

And open wide our heav'nly home; 

Make safe the way that leads on high, 

And close the path to misery. 

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel 

Shall come to thee, O Israel. 

O come, Adonai, Lord of might, 

Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height, 

In ancient times didst give the law 

In cloud and majesty and awe. 

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel 

Shall come to thee, O Israel. 

This amazing carol was written 174 years ago. We don’t really know what was in the mind of its author when it was written. It’s a mystery. But we do know this. Israel was reborn in 1948, and today, Israel is not only reborn, but the reborn nation of Israel stands center stage in modern-day political and human events. 

Who knows, maybe the song’s author was reading Apostle Paul’s letter to the Roman church when the song lyrics came to him. Who knows for sure? It’s a mystery. 

Romans 11:25-27 (NLT) 

I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. 26 And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say, “The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness. 27 And this is my covenant with them, that I will take away their sins.” 

O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel! 

Maranatha, Hosanna, Hallelujah and Amen, 

Terry Cooper 

Lead Minister